Benton, Franklin voter fraud cases sent to prosecutors

Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman has forwarded 74 potential voter fraud cases to county prosecutors — including four in Benton and Franklin counties.

The cases stem from the 2016 general election and are divided into three categories: cross-state voting, in-state voting and deceased voting.

Cross-state voting means a person possibly voted in more than one state.

In-state voting involves a person possibly voting in more than one county. Deceased voting is someone voting on behalf of someone who died before casting a ballot.

Wyman’s office referred three cases of potential cross-state voting to Benton County. Franklin County was referred one case of possible cross-state voting.

The cases were discovered by local officials through a study of votes across five states: Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Delaware and Maryland.

The study was planned long before the creation of President Trump’s election integrity commission, which investigates alleged voter fraud.

The 74 cases in the state account for 0.002 percent of the 3.36 million votes Washingtonians cast in the 2016 general election, Wyman said in a statement.

She said the study is further evidence that there was no widespread voter fraud in Washington.

“Washington strives to find that perfect balance between access and integrity,” said Wyman. “We want to make it as easy as possible for eligible citizens to register and vote, while at the same time protect our elections from fraud or abuse that could jeopardize the public’s faith in the system. That’s why our state and county elections departments go to such great lengths to verify individual voter information time and time again.”

Statewide, there are 59 cases of cross-state voter fraud under investigation, one case of deceased voting and 14 cases of in-state voting. The majority of the counties had at most three questionable cases.

County prosecutors will review the cases for possible charges.

This story was originally published September 15, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Benton, Franklin voter fraud cases sent to prosecutors."